PRESS RESOURCES FOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE HOLDERS

Congratulations on achieving a Certificate of Excellence! Now you’ve popped the champagne and celebrated, it’s time to think about how to make the most of your accolade – and turn it into more bookings!

APPROACHING LOCAL MEDIAYour local newspapers (and indeed those in surrounding areas) may well be interested in sharing your good news – and it’s a great way to get some free publicity for your home! But how do you go about securing some coverage?

The first step is to make a list of local newspapers and websites. You’re probably already aware of some of them if you live in the area yourself, but a quick search online or browse on social media will help you find more options.

Once you have your list, find the most appropriate contact for your story (HINT: It won’t be the Sports Editor) and drop them an email sharing your exciting news, using our handy press release template should you wish! It’s also a good idea to send a couple of great images of your home for them to use – and don’t forget to give them your contact details.

The Certificate of Excellence is given annually to those properties that provide consistently outstanding experiences and whose owners offer first-class customer service to their guests.

Owner/s of (INSERT PROPERTY NAME), a home that received the accolade, (INSERT NAME), said that he/she is thrilled with the recognition.

“We are very pleased to earn Certificate of Excellence for our property (INSERT PROPERTY NAME). We have listed with TripAdvisor Rentals for xxx years and we always strive to provide great customer service. It’s great to be rewarded by TripAdvisor Rentals after all of our hard work and it’s wonderful to know that our many guests over the last year have really valued their stay.”

Laurel Greatrix, Communications Director, TripAdvisor Rentals, said: “We’re excited to recognize and honor the top homes and homeowners on our site. This is a hard-earned accolade, and we’d like to thank these property owners for their dedication to providing travelers with consistently outstanding experiences.”

(INSERT LINK TO PROPERTY HERE) is available to book on TripAdvisor Rentals, where travelers can search, compare and book hundreds of thousands of properties worldwide. Choose properties with Payment Protection to enjoy safe and secure payment.

You might be familiar with Facebook for sharing your photos and keeping in touch with friends. But more and more businesses are recognizing the scope of social media to promote their products and services. And there’s not only Facebook—what about Twitter and Instagram? How can you leverage these powerful and influential platforms to increase your audience and reach travelers who are ready to book their their perfect trip?

To help, we’ve created a short guide to three of the most popular social media platforms and how to use them effectively to promote your rental. Good luck!

FacebookFacebook has the power to spread your message far and wide – like word of mouth on a global scale! If you haven’t already, set up a Facebook page to generate more interest and bookings for your rental. Get started by announcing your Certificate of Excellence, thanking your guests and letting people know your availability!

Top tipsCreate engaging posts: Facebook users respond well to pictures, so the secret to a great post is great photos.

Tag people/businesses: Start typing an @ in your post (e.g. “@tripadvisor”) and a list of options will appear. Select the person/business you want to tag in your post. It automatically creates a link and allows your post to be seen by their audience, too.

When to post: Think about when your target audience is most likely to be on their phones / devices and time your post accordingly. It’s not an exact science, but early evening—around 7pm—is when posts tend to get the most likes.

Like/Reply to comments: If someone comments on your post or sends you a message, show you’re active and engaged by responding. Like their comment, type a reply or engage the traveler with a message back.

Use emojis: Don’t be afraid to use emojis to give your posts a fun feel and get people in the mood for travel :)

Twitter

Twitter is more fast-paced than Facebook, with users searching for the latest updates on anything they’re interested in. Twitter posts (called “Tweets”) used to be limited to 140 characters and that was recently increased to 280. But that’s still only the length of this paragraph!

Don’t worry, though – you don’t have to rely on words alone. You can add photos to make your Tweets more eye-catching and exciting.

Top tips

Use Twitter handles: Typing @ and adding someone’s official Twitter name (their “handle”) sends them a notification. If they retweet your post, all their followers will see yours giving a huge boost to your audience numbers!

Use hashtags: This will drive people who are researching and ready to book a trip towards your property. Try adding your rental’s location (e.g. #london, #florida) to engage the audience searching for that destination. You can also use #CertificateOfExcellence.

Follow local attractions: Keep up with events in your area by following local businesses and attractions—perfect for letting guests know what’s happening during their stay and impressing with your local knowledge!

InstagramInstagram is all about sharing incredible images. Snap a quick pic and add filters to enhance it, transforming the simplest snapshot into an image with wow factor.

Choose WOW images: The most successful Instagram posts are those that stop people in their tracks. Get creative and share photos of your rental, local area and any fun attractions nearby.

Use hashtags: It’s usual for Instagram posts to include a list of hashtags at the end. Just like Twitter, people can search for these and then browse posts including that hashtag. Hashtags to try: #CertificateOfExcellence #tripadvisor

Finding the timeThis might all sound great in theory, but what about in practice? After all, there are only so many hours in the day and it’s not like you have a rental to run and a thousand things on your to-do list! But not to worry – here are three time-saving tips:

Use a social media management tool – You can send posts to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all from one central dashboard, rather than doing each separately. Try Hootsuite – their basic plan is free.

Schedule posts in advance – Get ahead and create posts for a few weeks to come. Then it’s done and you can simply sit back and watch the likes—and hopefully bookings—roll in!

Encourage guests to share photos of their stay – Not only is this fantastic promotion for your rental from the people whose opinion matters most (your guests!), it means you won’t have to come up with as many posts yourself. How’s that for a self-sufficient social media strategy?